My buddy Shawn's (Kernel on here and also hosts the Garlic Fest) son Austin's Team won the state tourney.  STATE CHAMPS!  They are now down in San Bernardino, CA for the Western State Finals.  Yesterday they beat Montana (10 runned them!) in 3.5 innings!

GO CHEHALIS!

www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~28777~2999826,00.html


SoCal shows no mercy

By John Murphy and Harvey Cohen, Staff Writers

SAN BERNARDINO - Both teams were wearing gray, but only one was feeling blue after Saturday night's prime-time showdown.

The team feeling down in the dumps after the West Region opener was Peccole Little League of Las Vegas, which lost 12-2 to Rancho Buena Vista Little League of Vista before 4,000 at Al Houghton Stadium.

The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

The game was the pool-play opener for both teams. All teams play four pool games, then the top four teams in each pool meet Friday in the West Region semifinals. The West finals are at 7 p.m. Aug. 14 in San Bernardino and will be televised live on ESPN2.

Nevada gets precious little time to rest as it meets Tracy National Little League of Northern California (1-0) at 12:15 p.m. today.

Southern California gets today off, then meets Snow Canyon Little League of Santa Clara, Utah, at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Leading 2-1 entering the fourth inning, Southern California broke the game open against Nevada pitcher Austin Pomerantz.

After scratching for one run in the fourth, SoCal got mammoth back-to-back home runs from catcher Nathan Lewis and pitcher Kalen Pimentel. Lewis' shot brought home two runs. Pimentel's drew a collective "Woo' from the crowd and landed in front of an ambulance parked 60 feet behind the right-field fence, 200 feet from home plate.

In all, SoCal scored seven runs in the fourth off three pitchers pitchers. The only suspense left was who would win the 50-50 rally, worth more than $500.

SoCal got off to a good start in the first inning when catcher Nathan Lewis legged out a bunt single, then second baseman Royce Copeland hit a two-out, run-scoring triple to right field.

Nevada tied the score in the third on third baseman Dillon Casey's line-drive home run over the left field fence.

In the second, Nevada squandered a two-on, no-out situation when Pimentel retired the next three batters on a pop-up and two strikeouts.

SoCal reclaimed the lead in the third inning when center fielder Reed Reznicek drove home third baseman Danny Vivier with a fielder's choice.

NORCAL 13, WYOMING 1: Tracy Little League of Northern California came away with a five-inning, mercy-rule victory against Gillette of Wyoming.

A big blow was first baseman Casey Wichman's grand slam in the fifth inning. Wichman had two hits.

Also managing two hits to lead NorCal's 11-hit attack were pitcher/shortstop Kyle Moses and shortstop/left fielder Jacob Lopez. Right fielder Alex Flores had a two-run homer for NorCal.

Moses and relief pitcher Joshua Wesley limited Wyoming to one hit. Moses struck out seven and walked four. Wesley struck out four.

Kadison Wass had Wyoming's only hit.

ARIZONA 4, UTAH 3: ARIZONA 4, UTAH 3: Chandler (Ariz.) National Little League turned three second-inning errors into three runs and then held off a Snow Canyon (Utah) rally in the sixth to win the opening game of the tournament.

Arizona sent eight batters to the plate in the decisive second inning with Jordan Fabasilio, Parker Osborne and Will Schommer scoring on wild throws. In each instance, the errant throws were to the wrong base.

Arizona starter Andrew Nelson was sailing along with a three-hit shutout entering the sixth inning when Utah loaded the bases with one out. Utah made it 4-2 on a two-run double from Taylor Cox, and then 4-3 when Devin Gubler scored on a wild pitch. Nelson stranded Cox at third to end the game by getting a strikeout and groundout.

Hard-luck Utah starter Austin Larsen limited Arizona to four hits, struck out six, walked four and hit a batter. Larsen allowed one earned run after back-to-back doubles in the fifth from Colton Frabasilio and Jordan Frabasilio, to make it 4-3.

Utah finished with five hits and Arizona had four, but Arizona's flawless defense proved the difference. NORTHWEST REGION

WASHINGTON 13, MONTANA 1: Chehalis (Wash.) Little League sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs in the second inning on its way to a 13-1 mercy-rule victory over Heights (Mont.) National in the Northwest Regional opener on Saturday at Al Houghton Stadium.

Starting pitcher Robert Pehl Jr. gave Washington an early lead with a two-run home run in the first. Washington banged out 10 hits, and 11 different players scored in the four-inning contest.

Montana scored its lone run in the second inning on a tape-measure homer to left field by Will Kent. Teammate Jacob Doty got Montana's only other hit with a single.

Washington's Kylon Bonagofsky went 3-for-4 and scored twice.

Washington pitchers Pehl, Justin Wilson and Brennan Casteel combined on the two-hitter, striking out eight and allowing five base runners.

Pehl Jr. leads Washington

By Damian Secore, Correspondent

SAN BERNARDINO - The staple of Washington teams at the Little League Western Regional Tournament in the past decade has been solid fundamentals and defense, and possessing that one slugger that opponents can't let beat them.

Third baseman Robert Pehl Jr. homered in his first two at-bats, raising his tournament high long-ball total to four, and Chehalis of Washington knocked off Northwest Ada (Idaho) 8-5 and clinched a spot in Saturday's Northwest region semifinals.

"We didn't have any expectation coming down here. It's the first time anybody in our district has been here in 45 years," Washington manager Bob Pehl said. "(Robert) is doing fine, but it's a team game. We've got to hit the ball much better through the lineup. Usually, our defense has been playing very well, and that helps."

Washington (3-0 in pool play), which has sent four teams to the World Series in the past five years, did not commit an error, and its pitching walked one.

Chehalis jumped to a 5-0 lead after its first 11 batters. Pehl Jr. lined a fastball over the fence in left field in the first. He capped a four-run second by going down to golf out a two-run homer to center, which followed Kylon Bonagofsky's two-out double to left-center, scoring Anthony St. Pierre and Andrew White.

"It's close to about what I expected," said Pehl Jr. of his regional performances. "They were both fastballs. I was just thinking fastball and adjust."

Idaho manager Jim Wood admitted to "not really" knowing much about Pehl Jr.: "But when someone powers a ball out about 250-260 feet, you have to do things differently."

Washington scored twice more in the fourth, making it 7-3. After Austin Hamilton doubled and, with one out, Pehl Jr. was intentionally walked, Chehalis recorded three consecutive singles to center. The latter two singles, by Justin Wilson and Chiquel Davis, brought in pinch-runner Dallas Day and Pehl Jr.

Idaho (1-2) displayed competitive spirit and flexed its muscle in twice cutting the deficit to two runs.

Northwest Ada broke through against tiring Washington pitcher Davis in the third as Dillon Schildon smoked a first-pitch high fastball for a two-run homer to center after Zack Borgman's groundout plated Ryan Wood for his ninth RBI of the tournament.

In the fifth, Idaho pulled within 7-5 with back-to-back homers to center by leadoff man Jon Popadics and Wood. Chris Berry then walked before Borgman's deep flyout to center ended the rally.

Even if Idaho doesn't win its last game, against Oregon on Thursday, it will advance to the semis as long as regional favorite Hawaii beats Montana today and Alaska on Thursday.

www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E29582%257E3003559,00.html

4-0!!!

They beat Oregon 7-1!!!

Seeded #1 for the tourney now.

WOW! Look at some of these scores!

Washington remains unscathed

By John Murphy, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - Chehalis Little League of Washington won again Wednesday night, completing a four-game sweep through pool play. But Washington manager Bob Pehl was not doing carthwheels or smiling ear to ear after his team's 7-1 victory against Murrayhill Little League of Beaverton, Ore.

Pehl knows that somewhere in Washington's future looms mighty West Oahu Little League of Hawaii. Hawaii has outscored opponents by a combined 59-13 in three games. Hawaii completes pool-play action tonight against Alaska.

Pehl still thinks Washington needs to pick it up offensively to have a chance in the semifinals and beyond.

"I still don't think we're hitting as well as we can," Pehl said. "We're going to have to hit better to win in the semis."

Chiquel Davis led Chehalis with three hits and Robert Pehl (the manager's son) and Brennan Casteel had two hits each. Yasser Khan had a home run for Chehalis.

Fortunately for Washington, it had left-hander Justin Wilson on the mound. He responded with a three-hitter, striking out one and walking zero.

"Justin had a Jamie Moyer-like effort for us," Pehl said. "He was throwing his fastball and breaking ball for strikes and just looking really good. We have four kids we could consider our No. 1 pitcher, but tonight it was Justin."

Quinn McLafferty, Blake Montague and Corey Ross all had hits for Oregon (1-2), which needs a win tonight at 8 p.m. against Idaho.

Hawaii 26, Montana 7:

Hawaii homered five times and sent 37 batters to the plate in the first three innings on its way to a decisive win.

Montana, which trailed 12-1 after the first, scored six runs in the second inning on a three-run homer from Josh Benjamin and run-scoring hits from Nick Scanson and Jordan Kern.

Hawaii continued its torrent with 10 runs in the second on three-run homers from Sheyne Baniaga and Quentin Guevara, and added four more in the third on home runs from Alaka'i Aglipay, Quentin Guevara and another from Baniaga.

Baniaga finished by going 4-for-4 with six RBI. Aglipay also homered twice, went 3-for-4 and drove in seven runs. Teammate Guevara chipped in with five RBI.

Hawaii totaled 17 hits in winning its third mercy-rule win of the tournament.

Montana's Zach Lindsey summed up the game by saying: "I used to have a little dachshund dog and he'd fight pit bulls. I felt like we were fighting pit bulls."

Michael Enos also went 3-for-4 and scored four times for Hawaii. "I've never felt sorry for any team, but after we got the big lead I felt sorry for them," Aglipay said.

Nevada 30, Utah 3

Peccole Little League of Las Vegas put on the most powerful output of the tournament by slugging nine home runs and pounding out 22 hits against Snow Canyon Little League of Utah.

Johnny Hernandez led the way with three three-run home runs. "All three times the ball hit my bat, I knew they were gone," he said.

Tyler Kartler smashed a grand slam and two-run homer, both coming in Nevada's 11-run fourth inning.

Joseph Merino also homered twice in Nevada's 11-run fourth.

Austin Larsen hit a solo homer in the first inning to get Utah to within 4-1.

But Hernandez answered with two of his homers in an 11-run Nevada second inning. Corey Lafler also homered in the inning. Brady Burns accounted for Nevada's ninth round-tripper in the first.

"We just haven't put things together down here. We've prided ourselves by hitting," Utah manager Travis Gates said. "We were embarrassed, but we'll bounce back.

Utah's Reggie Gates and Kyle Schumacher both doubled and scored. Utah (0-3) and Wyoming (0-3) play their final games at 9:30 a.m. today

Nevada (2-2) qualified for the West Region semifinals beginning Friday.

Harvey Cohen contributed to this report.